Terms and conditions

Last Updated: April 26, 2026

Welcome to The Poetry Soul. These Terms and Conditions outline the rules and regulations for the use of our website and participation in our poetry contests. By registering an account, submitting poetry, or accessing the website, you accept these terms in full. If you disagree with these terms, please do not use our platform.

1. Account Registration and Eligibility

• Age Requirement: You must be at least 18 years of age to participate in Paid contests or receive cash prizes. Users under 18 may participate in Free contests only with explicit parental or guardian consent.

• Account Accuracy: You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account password and providing accurate, current email and payment information so we can contact you regarding contest results and prizes.

• One Account Per Person: Users are strictly prohibited from creating multiple accounts to bypass submission limits or manipulate voting/judging.

2. Originality and Plagiarism

• 100% Original Work: All poetry submitted to The Poetry Soul must be entirely your own original work.

• Zero Tolerance for Plagiarism: Submitting another poet’s work as your own will result in an immediate, permanent ban from the platform, forfeiture of any pending prizes, and removal of all your content.

• AI-Generated Content: The use of Artificial Intelligence (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude) to write, outline, or generate poetry is strictly prohibited. Submissions found to be AI-generated will be disqualified.

• Previously Published Work: Unless explicitly stated otherwise in a specific contest prompt, submissions must be unpublished. Work shared on personal social media or personal blogs is acceptable, but work traditionally published or monetized elsewhere is not eligible.

3. Copyright and Intellectual Property

• You Own Your Work: You retain 100% of the copyright and moral rights to any poetry you submit to The Poetry Soul. We do not take ownership of your words.

• Publishing License: By submitting a poem, you grant The Poetry Soul a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to publish, display, and promote your poem on our website, social media channels, and promotional materials if your work is selected as a Winner or Honorable Mention.

4. Contest Submissions and Entry Fees

• Entry Fees: Paid contests require a non-refundable entry fee. Once a poem is submitted and the fee is paid, it cannot be refunded or swapped for a different poem.

• Deadlines: All contest deadlines are final. Submissions received after the designated closing time will not be accepted.

• Revisions: Once a poem is officially submitted to a contest, it cannot be edited or revised. Please proofread your work carefully before submitting.

5. Judging and Prize Payouts

• Judging Process: All submissions are judged blindly to ensure fairness. Judging decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

• Prize Distribution: Cash prizes are distributed electronically via PayPal within 7–14 business days after announcement, subject to payment processing times.

• Taxes and Fees: Winners are solely responsible for any taxes, bank fees, or currency conversion fees associated with receiving their prize money in their respective countries.

  People’s Choice Award

  The People’s Choice Award will be awarded to the entry that receives the highest verified public engagement during the official contest period.

  The winner will be decided based on total engagement, including:

  • 👍 Likes / Reactions
  • 🔁 Shares
  • 👁️ Views (where applicable)

  All engagement will be calculated only from official contest platforms and/or the official website pages.

  Only engagement received during the official contest timeline will be counted. Any engagement outside the contest period will not be considered.

  Fair Usage & Anti-Fraud Policy

  To ensure fairness:

  • Fake accounts, bots, or automated systems are strictly prohibited
  • Any attempt to manipulate likes, shares, or views will result in disqualification
  • Organizers reserve the right to verify engagement data
  • Suspicious or unnatural activity may be removed without notice

  The entry with the highest verified combined engagement score will be declared the winner of the People’s Choice Award.

  The decision of the organizers will be final and not subject to dispute or appeal.

  Note: The People’s Choice Award is intended to encourage genuine audience engagement. Any manipulation of engagement metrics will lead to immediate disqualification from this category and may affect eligibility for other prizes.

6. Prohibited Content

While we champion freedom of expression and artistic exploration, The Poetry Soul reserves the right to disqualify submissions and ban users who submit content that:

• Promotes hate speech, discrimination, or violence against any group or individual.

• Contains illegal content, severe graphic violence, or explicit material that does not serve a clear, justified literary purpose.

• Harasses, defames, or threatens other users or platform staff.

• Any attempt to manipulate votes, likes, shares, or views using fake accounts or automated systems will result in disqualification.

7. Limitation of Liability

The Poetry Soul is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. We do not guarantee that the website will be entirely free of errors, downtime, or technical interruptions. We are not liable for any lost data, unsaved poems, or missed deadlines resulting from technical issues.

8. Changes to These Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms and Conditions at any time. If significant changes are made, we will notify registered users via email. Continued use of the platform after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised terms.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about these Terms and Conditions, please contact us at info@thepoetrysoul.com.